


It's A Date

by thoroughlynerdy



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, Slice of Life, The Office AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26323000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoroughlynerdy/pseuds/thoroughlynerdy
Summary: You Miss 100% of the shots you don't take.- Wayne Gretzky.- Michael Scott-Han Sanghyuk-Jung Taekwoon.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo, Han Sanghyuk | Hyuk/Lee Hongbin, Kim Wonshik | Ravi/Lee Jaehwan | Ken
Comments: 12
Kudos: 35
Collections: K-Pop Ficmix 2020





	It's A Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inpiniteu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inpiniteu/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Grant My Last Request (and Just Let Me Hold You)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4099072) by [inpiniteu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inpiniteu/pseuds/inpiniteu). 



> A paraphrase of how this came to be:
> 
> I: You could do an office AU.  
> Me: Whenever someone says "office AU" I just think "The Office."  
> I: !!!!!  
> Me: Oh my god.

"Do you think you could have loved me?" Sanghyuk asks, his voice so soft, so low, so different from the loud kid they have known.

Taekwoon freezes and throws a panicked look at Insub with his hand still on the doorknob. Logically, he knows he should go, but he’s rooted to the spot waiting for Hakyeon’s response.

"I do love you, Hyuk-ah, just not in the way you want me to love you. You’re my precious intern and a great friend.

Taekwoon can practically hear the wince in Hakyeon’s voice as he finishes his sentence.

“I understand,” Sanghyuk says quickly.

Taekwoon has just enough time to throw himself to the side, barely avoiding the door as Sanghyuk flees from the room heading straight towards the entrance doors. He feels bad for Sanghyuk, truly. He knows what it’s like to love Hakyeon and not have him love you back.

“I don’t think now’s a good time” he mumbles toward Insub and retreats to his own desk.

—-

SIX MONTHS EARLIER

They’re gathered in the conference room for what will probably be yet another meeting that could have been an e-mail. Jaehwan sighs as he drops into the chair next to Hongbin. On Hongbin’s other side are Taekwoon and Hakyeon, Taekwoon already leaning suspiciously close into Hakyeon’s space and ready to make him a pillow for the majority of the meeting. 

“Thank you all for joining me,” Hwang Sejun, their manager, starts once everyone has mostly settled.

“As If we had a choice,” Hongbin mutters darkly.

Jaehwan resolutely stifles a laugh and keeps his eyes on their boss. He still gives him a quiet low five for the quip.

“The reason behind our gathering today is for two reasons,” he begins, his audience already beginning to tune him out. “First, I would like to introduce our newest intern, Han Sanghyuk. He comes from my alma mater, so I’m sure he will be a perfect fit for our office. He’ll be working directly under Hakyeon in sales.”

Jaehwan throws a look at Hakyeon who is barely managing to conceal the surprise on his face. Much to Taekwoon’s annoyance, Hakyeon jumps to his feet and gives a friendly wave to the intern, which in turn causes Taekwoon’s head to slide off Hakyeon’s shoulder.

“I’ll make sure to take care of him,” Hakyeon says beaming.

Once Hakyeon has returned to his seat, and Taekwoon to his place of invading Hakyeon’s personal space, Hwang-nim continues.

“Now, for the last piece of news. I was recently contacted by a documentary crew who was interested in following the process of a sales team as they work internally and externally with a company to sell paper products in an increasingly digital world.”

“Who would want to watch that?”

Hongbin’s voice travels further than he intends and his eyes widen the second the question leaves his mouth, a flush creeping up his cheeks.

Jaehwan thinks it is adorable and makes a mental note to tease the other later..

“I’ll answer that,” a deep voice cuts in drawing attention off Hongbin and back up front, much to the latter’s relief.

“Hi, I’m Kim Wonshik, the lead cameraman and director of the documentary. I’m fascinated by the evolution of message exchange and wanted to see it in action. We will work to not be a nuisance to you all and not to interrupt your hard work. So when you see us or our cameras, please act as if we are not here. Thank you.”

While this Kim Wonshik is easy on the eyes, Jaehwan is more inclined to agree with Hongbin that filming their little JellyPaperCo office seems like it would just be boring. However, cozying up to director slash lead cameraman might help him get a better idea of how to film his YouTube videos so that he could grow his audience. That’s a definite perk, so he decides to hang back and introduce himself to the other once the meeting ends.

They all end up sitting there for far longer than necessary listening to their manager drone on, in Jaehwan’s opinion. His initial assessment was more than correct and the entire last twenty minutes could indeed have been an e-mail. He stands and stretches before threading himself through his coworkers towards the front of the room where their manager is chatting with Wonshik. He waits for them to finish before turning a bright smile to the newcomer once his boss has turned away.

“Hi, I’m Lee Jaehwan, database operator.”

“Kim Wonshik,” the other replies, a quizzical look on his face.

Jaehwan takes a second to appreciate him from up close—he’s a little surprised at the number of piercings in his ears, but it works on him. He’s only a little taller than Jaehwan, a few centimeters at most, but much more broad. “I just wanted to introduce myself and tell you that if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m friends with pretty much everyone here so if you need ideas on who or what to film, I would be more than happy to offer my services.”

Wonshik huffs out a laugh, “So you’re the busybody?”

Jaehwan twists his face into a pout, “I’m not a busybody, I’m friendly. There’s a difference. I don’t get into people’s business, I just know all of it,” he defends.

After another laugh, Wonshik recovers, then gestures to just outside the room where three other people Jaehwan has never seen before stand looking around in a mixture of interest and awkwardness, “Let me introduce you to the rest of the guys.” He gestures at the first two, a brunette and blond who smile at him easily, “These are Park Chiwoong and Oh Insub, they helped me start my production company and are both extremely talented. And this,” he finishes gesturing at the third, a slightly smaller with a very distinct tattoo, “this is Jeon Woosung, our very own baby intern.”

The name earns a scowl from the intern in question and Jaehwan stops himself from cooing.

Jaehwan smiles at them instead, “It’s very nice to meet you, I’m Lee Jaehwan and if any of you ever need anything, please feel free to ask me. I know everyone and everything.”

The declaration draws a laugh from the crew and Jaehwan feels pleased that he’s putting them all at ease. He watches as they begin to unpack cameras and look to Wonshik for direction.

“I’ll let you all get settled then. I’ll be over there,” he gestures toward the far end of the space where two desks are set up perpendicular to the wall, “if you decide you need me. I can even introduce you to Daeg—Taekwoon, the other ‘spreadsheet guy’ as they like to call us.”

With a quick wave he finally returns to his desk, settling into his seat with a long sigh as he shakes his mouse to bring his monitor back to life, “I’m bored,” he tells Taekwoon before he even starts.

Taekwoon, as usual, ignores him and continues running the analysis report he’s in charge of. It’s for Hakyeon’s account, so of course he is singularly focused on the task even if he will deny it to his last breath. He finds it truly amazing how oblivious the both of them are. 

Finally, Jaehwan turns his attention back to his own analysis report and continues where he left off.

Half an hour later, he’s pushing back from his desk with a groan. He is _bored_ and needs to look at something other than this stupid screen. He turns to glance over to reception to see if Hongbin is busy when he catches sight of Wonshik with his camera trained on the data department. His eyes widen as he stares straight into the lens.

“Ignore me, remember?” 

Wonshik’s low voice shakes Jaehwan from his thoughts and he gives him a bright smile before pushing himself to his feet and making his way towards Hongbin.

“Are you winning?” Jaehwan asks as he props his elbows on the tall counter and grins at Hongbin fumbling his phone out of sight.

“I was until you distracted me,” Hongbin grumbles as he leans back in his chair to survey his guest. “Are you here for a reason, or just on one of your many breaks?”

Jaehwan drops his jaw, feigning as much offense as he can muster. “I work just as hard as they are paying me for,” he counters, drawing a snort from Hongbin.

“I’m sure someone would argue,” Hongbin says with a pointed look to the back of Taekwoon’s head, then flicks his gaze back to Jaehwan, “But I’m just the receptionist, so I don’t care if you’re earning your keep.”

“Taekwoon is happy when I wander, it means less interruptions for him,” Jaehwan replies, shoulders moving in a quick shrug. “Anyway, let’s move on to more fun news. We got a new intern _and_ a camera crew today. How are you so unbothered?” he asks unwrapping one of the candies Hongbin keeps in stocked in a jar on top of his desk and popping it in his mouth.

Hongbin mimics Jaehwan’s shrug, casting a glance towards Wonshik and his camera before turning back to his friend, “My job isn’t very interesting, so I probably won’t get much screen time in a documentary. And the intern, well, I just hope he lasts longer than the others.”

Jaehwan follows the gaze to Wonshik’s furrowed brow. “Let’s give him a day or two and see how he is before we commit to helping him,” Jaehwan says in a stage whisper. He unwraps and pops one last candy into his mouth, shoving the trash in his pocket until he gets to the break room trash can and starts to walk back towards his desk. 

“What do you mean about ‘seeing how long he lasts’?” Wonshik asks when Jaehwan gets closer to him.

“I thought I was supposed to ignore you?” Jaehwan asks innocently. Wonshik huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. Jaehwan is pleased that he’s already getting this kind of response. “Historically we’ve had a bit of trouble keeping our interns around. They find some of the office dynamics and pace a little too much to keep up with. I have a good feeling about this one though, he explains.

“Right,” Wonshik replies with a nod, but still looks a little confused. “I’ll make sure that Wooseung keeps his camera on him,” he adds with a hesitant smile.

Jaehwan nods, then returns to his desk with a small sigh. He sits back in his chair and swivels towards Taekwoon, “Did you miss me?” he asks, already knowing the answer.

“No,” Taekwoon replies as expected. 

Jaehwan grins, “One day you’ll admit that you’re fond of me.”

—-

“This is the sales area,” Hakyeon says as he leads an eager looking Sanghyuk around. “It’s not as face paced as it used to be, but it does require a certain presence, so I hope you don’t mind small talk and presentations.”

“That’s fine,” Sanghyuk replies quickly. 

Hakyeon smiles at him, “Good, now let’s get you settled.”

Hakyeon leads him to a desk that’s a few over from his own. “Hwang-nim doesn’t care if you decorate, so feel free to bring in some personal items to display if you want,” Hakyeon says gesturing to the empty desk around the monitor. “We’ll go down to IT next to set you up with a password and get you a badge. Are you nervous?” he asks as he leads Sanghyuk back the way they came from. He knows he’s not giving the younger much time to settle in, but Jelpi, as they affectionately call their office, doesn’t wait for you to adjust.

“A little,” Sanghyuk replies, cheeks coloring slightly with the admission.

“That’s understandable,” Hakyeon says, giving Sanghyuk a quick pat on the shoulder. The younger’s steps falter a little under his touch so Hakyeon reaches out to steady him. “You good?”

“Fine,” Sanghyuk squeaks. “Just tripped. I’m fine.”

His face is on fire, so Hakyeon decides to let it drop, but he hears the small chuckle behind him and turns to throw the cameraman following them a disapproving look. He also makes a split second decision to introduce Sanghyuk around a bit so he feels a little more welcome and makes a detour towards data entry. 

“Hello my favorite screen-dwellers,” Hakyeon says brightly.

“Hey,” Taekwoon and Jaehwan reply together, the latter’s voice nearly masking Taekwoon’s soft one, but Hakyeon can still hear it.

“How is life over here?” he asks as he settles in next to Taekwoon, elbow propped up on the back of Taekwoon’s chair as they chat.

“Boring,” Jaehwan replies, puffing his cheeks out in a dramatic pout.

Hakyeon laughs, shaking his head and turning to Sanghyuk, “Let me introduce you to Lee Jaehwan, the bored one, and Jung Taekwoon, the quiet one,” he says drawing a look from Taekwoon. He brushes his hand across Taekwoon’s back in a small sign of appeasement. “If you ever need to know what’s going on with, well, anyone really, Jaehwan is your man. He’s friends with literally everyone,” Hakyeon says to Sanghyuk to gauge his reaction.

“Awesome, I’ll definitely come to you, Lee-ssi. I want to make a good impression,” Sanghyuk says with a quick smile for Jaehwan.

“Jaehwan is fine,” the other replies, glancing to Hakyeon with a smile of his own. 

Hakyeon sags a little in the tiniest bit of relief. Part of why the previous intern hadn’t worked out was his standoffish nature with everyone. When Hakyeon had taken him around to introduce him he had been indifferent towards most, but downright dismissive of Jaehwan and his friendly smile. Anyone who couldn’t get along with Jaehwan would never be happy at Jelpi.

“Taekwoon is very focused on his numbers, so he stays to himself a lot, but if you’re ever sent over here to run some numbers, make sure you bring a coffee or a snack with you. He’s much friendlier if you feed him,” Hakyeon teases again.

He anticipates the quick movement of Taekwoon rolling his chair a few inches forward and doesn’t topple over as it seems Taekwoon hoped. Hakyeon may pay for it later, but he gives Sanghyuk a grin before he reaches in his jacket pocket and pulls out a bag of chips. He sets it on the edge of Taekwoon’s desk and beckons Sanghyuk back towards reception without waiting to see if his gift is accepted.

Once they’re near Hongbin, the loud crunch of snacking is music to Hakyeon’s ears.

“Is he going to murder you now?” Sanghyuk asks, voice low as he throws a wary glance back towards Jaehwan and Taekwoon.

Hakyeon stops in his tracks and turns to Sanghyuk. “Taekwoon is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I like to tease him because we’re close, but please don’t misinterpret his actions or my remarks and think he’s a scary or mean person. If you need anything Taekwoon will help you.”

Sanghyuk looks taken aback, and Hakyeon thinks maybe he was a little too intense, but he needs to make sure Sanghyuk understands. Speaking ill of Taekwoon to other coworkers was the reason Hakyeon had asked the intern before the last one didn’t get hired on permanently.

The younger nods, and Hakyeon nods as well, then turns to the reception desk where Hongbin is not so secretly watching them.

“Everything good?” Hongbin asks, one eyebrow rising as he studies Hakyeon.

“It’s fine,” Hakyeon returns leaning on the small counter in front of Hongbin. “I’m just taking Sanghyuk here on a little tour before I bring him down to IT. Making sure he knows some of my favorite people to work with.”

“And we all know your very favorite,” Hongbin mutters. 

The comment is almost too low for Hakyeon to catch but he does, so he shoots Hongbin a warning glare. Which has absolutely no impact on the younger.

Hongbin turns to Sanghyuk, effectively dismissing Hakyeon. “I’m Hongbin, receptionist.”

“Hongbinnie here keeps us running. Don’t let him tell you otherwise,” Hakyeon says before Hongbin can continue. “Even more than Jaehwan he knows everyone in this place and could probably do all of our jobs for us if we needed him to.”

He can feel the glare Hongbin is sending him, but he just beams at Sanghyuk who is looking a little bemused.

“You really like the people you work with, don’t you?” Sanghyuk asks with a small laugh.

“They’re the best, why shouldn’t I?” Hakyeon returns, genuinely confused by the question.

It seems Sanghyuk doesn’t have an answer for that, so instead they bid Hongbin goodbye and Hakyeon finally leads Sanghyuk towards IT so he can get the credentials he needs.

Three weeks with cameras and a new intern have been a little more than Hakyeon anticipated. Wonshik’s team are professionals, so it’s easy to ignore them, but sometimes he can’t help but remember they are there, especially with how close Jaehwan is getting to Wonshik. It’s nice to see someone embrace his enthusiasm and questions without treating him like an annoyance, so Hakyeon chooses not to harp on either of them about professionalism. 

Not surprisingly, Wonshik is taking his lunch break—with Jaehwan—when Hakyeon steps inside to eat his own meal. He gives the duo a small wave before setting his lunch box down at his usual table and walking over to the vending machine. He feeds it a few coins and gets two drinks, one for himself and one for Taekwoon, before sitting down.

Hakyeon takes his time unpacking his food, arranging the containers while he waits for Taekwoon to appear. Luckily he doesn’t have to wait too much longer because the other walks in a minute later and drops heavily into the seat across from him.

“You’re late,” Hakyeon says teasingly as he slides the drink to Taekwoon. He does his best to ignore Insub and his camera, who followed Taekwoon in and is now doing his best to angle his shot so that Wonshik and Jaehwan stay off camera, but his subjects are still in frame. 

“Sorry, I had to make a phone call,” Taekwoon replies with a quick dip of his head. “My mom said it was an emergency, but she just needed to know if I had plans for next June because one of my cousins is getting married then and she wanted to RSVP,” he grumbles.

Hakyeon can’t hold the laugh back at the disgruntled look on Taekwoon’s face. He almost reaches out to ruffle his hair, but manages to stop himself in time. That’s not his place. “Your mom is amazing,” he says instead. 

Taekwoon can’t argue because he’s already stuffed half of a rice ball in his mouth and is too busy chewing.

They fall into their usual routine, with Hakyeon chatting at Taekwoon between bites as the other plows through the meal he’s brought from home.

About 15 minutes into their break, Sanghyuk comes in and looks a little awkward as he heads toward an empty table. “Sanghyuk-ah, sit with us!” Hakyeon calls out before Sanghyuk takes his seat. “Don’t eat alone.”

“Thanks,” Sanghyuk says to Hakyeon, then dips his head briefly at Taekwoon before he sits with them. 

“Did you have time to finish the project I gave you earlier?” Hakyeon asks as Sanghyuk pops open the top on his boxed lunch.

“Nearly, I just need to proof it again as soon as I’m done eating. I’ll bring it for your approval soon,” Sanghyuk replies before taking a huge bite of his food and chewing hurriedly.

“Don’t choke yourself on my behalf. Eat normally and finish it later. I told you it’s a mock up anyway. There’s no real deadline.”

After Sanghyuk has continued eating at a more normal pace, Hakyeon turns to Taekwoon who is watching him with slightly narrowed eyes. A look that says “what project did you assign the intern?”

“I’m trying him out in our social media department today. Before Lunch I had him study a few of the campaigns I have designed over the last year while we got the department up and running and had him try and design something that goes along with it,” he says.

“Good, you work too hard on that anyway,” Taekwoon says easily.

Hakyeon would be offended if he didn’t agree. He’d taken on the role, but not an increase in salary since he just did it in his downtime between his business trips and preparing sales presentations. He wasn’t an expert by any means, but Hwang didn’t want to set up a full department for it just yet and a new, young intern could be the answer to delegating this task to a fresh face and mind.

Sanghyuk, it turns out after lunch, does well at creating a mock campaign so Hakyeon decides to put him in charge of the social media accounts for the rest of the week to see how he gets along. He’ll be creating small pieces of content and answering any questions that come from current or potential customers.

“You understand right?” Hakyeon asks the next morning after he’s explained his expectations for the intern. “Anything beyond answering paper weight, non-proprietary ingredients, and just general interaction you call me over before responding. I’ll leave the posts to you, but will remind you to use your best judgment and think if you’d be worried about your grandmother seeing or reading something, then don’t post it. And no logging into your own personal accounts on company devices and no logging into the work account on your personal device.”

Sanghyuk gives him a huff of indignation, but Hakyeon presses on.

“I only say this because the last intern got confused about which account he was on and posted a series of increasingly inappropriate stories to the company Instagram of him and his friends at a club. He didn’t even realize until the next morning when HR called him in at my request because I stupidly didn’t have notifications set up and didn’t catch them. I will this time though.”

Sanghyuk now looks a little taken aback and Hakyeon feels a sense of satisfaction that he has been properly warned. He decides to leave him to it and give him a few hours before checking in on the account and Sanghyuk himself. He needs to start working on his next pitch anyway, so this will give him a little more time to focus on the aspects of his job he does get paid for. He gives Sanghyuk a little wave before walking the few steps over to his own desk and settling in to work on his presentation.

Thirty minutes later he realizes he needs updated specs on their latest product release. He could just shoot a quick message to Taekwoon through the intra-company chat, but he needs to stretch his legs and it’s time for Taekwoon’s 3:00 crash anyway. He grabs a packet of chips and heads over for a delivery and for the numbers he needs. He gives Sanghyuk a little glance as he leaves and sees him scrolling through their company’s Twitter mentions, briefly pausing and reading some before clicking on a heart or pressing the reply button.

“Snack delivery!” he chirps at Taekwoon as he comes up beside him offering the chips after he’s traversed the office.

“Where’s mine?” Jaehwan asks, face a full pout after he realizes Hakyeon only brought one bag. “This is obvious favoritism and I won’t stand for it.”

Hakyeon opens his mouth to respond, but Taekwoon’s soft voice cuts him off.

“Ask Wonshik to bring you snacks, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

The loud coughing fit from Wonshik and the tea kettle pitch Jaehwan reach are enough to make even Hakyeon cringe back from the noise. 

“If you could not refer to me directly and ruin my shots, that would be helpful,” Wonshik says once he’s recovered.

Hakyeon gives him a little dismissive wave and turns back to Taekwoon, “I’m afraid I’m not here purely to deliver snacks,” he confesses with a smile.

“I know, what numbers do you need?” Taekwoon asks as he opens the chips and snags a couple, crunching down on them before he looks up at Hakyeon. 

Hakyeon is distracted by how Taekwoon’s cheeks seem to triple in size as he chews, and almost forgets to respond. “The GSM for each product on the new line,” he replies.

“Easy enough,” Taekwoon shrugs. “I can have it e-mailed to you before you even get back to your desk.”

Hakyeon deflates a little, “Oh, okay, thanks.” He had been hoping to spend more than just a minute over here, but apparently Taekwoon had other plans. Usually his visits last at least five. He straightens back up and shuffles a little awkwardly before he starts to turn away.

“Wait,” Taekwoon says quickly, then drops his gaze down to his keyboard, “Which presentation are you preparing for?”

Hakyeon grabs this little lifeline and clings to it, “VrVr,” he says, settling back in against Taekwoon’s desk. “They’re looking to re-launch their planner and notebook lines with different weight and colors and want to see how our new products compare to the originals.”

“I can compile another list with the specs available from competitors with similar weights and color options if you want so they have more to compare with. When is the trip?” Taekwoon asks.

“Two weeks from now,” Hakyeon answers.

Instead of saying anything else, Taekwoon simply holds out the bag of chips, offering to share with Hakyeon. Pleased, Hakyeon takes a chip and chews Happily while Taekwoon jots down a small list on a sticky note 

“When I get back to my desk I’ll send you the list of weights ‘ll be pitching to them based off of what they ordered before and what I think they’ll want now. But it probably wouldn’t hurt to have a few extras just in case they go in a different direction than I am anticipating,” Hakyeon says shifting back so he’s no longer leaning against Taekwoon’s desk like he had been, but standing beside him instead. “Thanks Taekwoonie, you know I appreciate you right?” he adds as Taekwoon finishes his mini-list.

“That’s not the only reason he appreciates you,” Jaehwan grumbles.

Hakyeon reaches out and smacks him. He doesn’t need Taekwoon getting self-conscious or getting any ideas. Even if there may be some truth to Jaehwan’s words, it’s not his place. 

“I’m telling HR,” Jaehwan says affronted. This is violence, clearly caught on camera!”

“No one will blame me,” Hakyeon grins as he gives Taekwoon a quick wave before returning back to his desk. “Plus I think Wonshik may have been cleaning his lens at the time. He probably didn’t catch any of it on film.”

Wonshik can’t stifle his laugh at the words and grins at Hakyeon as he passes by.

“No one uses film anymore, it’s all digital!” Jaehwan calls after him, but Hakyeon ignores him, eager to sneak a glance at Sanghyuk and get his list together for Taekwoon.

True to his word, Taekwoon sends over the numbers he needs for the first set of numbers he asked for before he can even get there. Before he dives back into his presentation though, he decides to sneak a peek at how Sanghyuk has been faring so far. He minimizes his presentation and pulls up the company social media accounts in his browser. He scrolls through Twitter first, smiling as he sees the engagement Sanghyuk has been making, replying to mentions and liking photos of their products in use like he saw earlier. It’s a great start and his replies are witty, so Hakyeon breathes a small sigh of relief. _This could actually work_ he thinks to himself.

Next, he checks Instagram. There’s one new photo posted to the company account, a minimalist photo Hakyeon had taken the week before in his little lightbox he set up to showcase the products. The caption though says nothing about the color, weight, or texture of the paper like he usually fills in. It’s just three emojis: the thumbs up, the paper and pencil, and the fire.

“Sanghyuk,” he calls out.

“Yeah, Hyung?” the intern responds.

“Why are you only captioning using emojis? And why the fire one? Are you advertising that our paper is flammable?”

Sanghyuk’s soft footsteps close in and Hakyeon swivels around to give him a confused look.

“You’re so old sometimes, you know that?” Sanghyuk asks with a laugh.

“Yah!” Hakyeon says, eyes narrowing and hand raising. He can’t actually hit the intern the way he does Jaehwan, they’re not that close yet, but that doesn’t mean the instinct isn’t there.

“It means lit. As in cool. Why use words when the emojis get across the point anyway? Can I ask a question about this whole social media thing though? Isn’t it kind of ironic that we’re using the internet to sell _paper_ anyway?”

Hakyeon rolls his eyes, “We’re expanding our reach and targeting a newer audience. It’s working too, so just keep monitoring the accounts and replying like you are. I’m not sold on your captions yet, but we’ll see how it works. Hwang-nim was considering proposing to corporate beginning individual sales instead of just bulk, and seeing how people use our products is the first step.

Later,Much to Hakyeon’s chagrin, he finds out that Sanghyuk’s Instagram post gets more likes and engagement than any of his ever have before. He wants to chalk it up to beginner’s luck, but over the next few days, the numbers only get bigger. Once Sanghyuk’s internship is up, they may have their social media specialist after all and maybe even a bigger demographic to sell to.

—-

“How do you stand it over here, isn’t it just boring all the time?” Sanghyuk asks as he wanders over to where Hongbin is sitting at reception, cell phone in hands as usual.

“It gives me time to play, or study,” he replies nodding his head toward the pile of books to the left of his monitor. “It’s convenient.”

Sanghyuk wrinkles his nose and grabs one of the chocolates. He’s taking a small break from his own job of monitoring the social media accounts and helping Hakyeon prepare for his next pitch. He was pleased when Hakyeon asked since it gave him more opportunity to be with the older more often than his checking in on him afforded. 

“Hyuk-ah, make sure you don’t eat all of Hongbinnie’s chocolate, he pays for those himself you know!” Hakyeon’s voice surprises Sanghyuk where he leans against the counter. 

Sanghyuk turns and sticks his tongue out at Hakyeon, delighted that the action earns him one of Hakyeon’s louder laughs as he goes to visit Jaehwan and Taekwoon. 

His early days with Hakyeon were interesting. He’d thought the older was a little weird for enjoying the job so much and kept his distance when he wasn’t being dragged around by his superior. Within a week though, he realized that Hakyeon’s love didn’t necessarily center around the paper he was selling, but the people he was selling it with. Hakyeon _loved_ his immediate team members and nothing could stop him from showing that affection. 

Sanghyuk was more than a little pleased when Hakyeon started being more natural about including him in things instead of as what felt like an afterthought. When he’d asked him to take over social media fully during the time he was here, Sanghyuk had nearly exploded. It was more responsibility than he’d expected from just an internship and an opportunity to carve out a place for himself to stay long term, which was becoming more appealing by the day.

“Let’s go out for a bit,” Sanghyuk suggests turning to look at Hongbin. “We can just run across the street and grab coffee and come back to eat what we brought,” he says, already hearing Hongbin’s protest. As reception, Hongbin didn’t have the luxury of wandering away from his desk for extended periods of time like others other than for his lunch break.

“If we come back with coffee and none for Taekwoon he will literally disembowel us,” Hongbin says. He’s usually all bark and no bite, but coffee is his exception. Your camera is fine outside, right?” Hongbin says suddenly turning to Wooseung.

Sanghyuk had done well to train himself to ignore the cameras, but Hongbin went out of his way to acknowledge them and it amused Sanghyuk every time to see the look of annoyance flash across Wooseung’s face when he was spoken to. “You know they’re only editing out the parts where you talk directly to them, right? You’re still going to be in the documentary,” Sanghyuk says with a look at the fidgeting young cameraman.

“I know, but it lessens my screen time. Plus Wooseung is fun to mess with,” Hongbin says giving the aforementioned camera man a wide grin.

“Stop messing with my team.”

Both Sanghyuk and Hongbin turn to see Wonshik staring over at them with narrowed eyes. 

“I know he’s adorable, but he’s still a baby. Be nice.”

“Hyung, I’m not a kid anymore,” Wooseung whines, which has the opposite effect intended.

“So cute,” Sanghyuk agrees with a grin at Wooseung, “What are we going to do with him?”

Sanghyuk is fairly certain that it is only Wonshik’s eagle eyed gaze on Wooseung that prevents the cameraman from flipping all of them off and storming off in a rage. Satisfied with the light teasing, he chuckles to himself as he waits for Hongbin to set the out of office message on the phones so they can go get their coffee.

Once they’ve crossed the street and entered the small cafe, Hongbin turns to Wooseung, “Do you know all of your orders?”

“Whose orders?” Wooseung asks, throwing a baffled look at Sanghyuk.

Hongbin huffs, rolling his eyes, “Wonshik, Insub, and Chiwoong. I have Hakyeon, Taekwoon, and Jaehwan covered, but I don’t know the other three well enough yet to know their preferences.”

Wooseung looks lost. His eyes widening as he looks again to Sanghyuk for help.

Sanghyuk just gives him a shrug in response. How should he know how Wonshik takes his coffee? He’s not Jaehwan.

“I…think I do?” Wooseung finally says after a long minute where both Sanghyuk and Hongbin wait for him.

“Great, let’s go then,” Hongbin says before stepping into the actual line.

While they wait, Sanghyuk takes a look at the pastries on display. A little treat wouldn’t hurt, so he waits until Hongbin is done and then orders a mix of cookies, brownies, and cakes. “Hakyeon hyung likes strawberry, right?” he asks Hongbin distractedly as he is choosing the last flavor to add. He holds Hongbin’s gaze, aware that he’s being transparent, but more concerned with getting the answer than saving face in this particular moment.

At Hongbin’s nod, Sanghyuk finalizes his order and slides over to the counter to wait. He keeps stealing glaces at Hongbin, wondering what he thinks of Sanghyuk’s not so covert actions, but the other is engrossed in his phone so Sanghyuk plays with the wrapper on one of the straws he snagged, peeling the edge back with his thumbnail distractedly as he waits for their orders to be prepared.

Once they have their drinks, Hongbin and Sanghyuk each takie a carrier of 4 while Wooseung is tasked with holding his own drink in addition to his camera, they make their way back to the office. Hongbin leads the way into the small breakroom and a chorus of cheers breaks out as they realize what the trio is holding.

“Look at these adorable children!” Hakyeon says beaming at them and standing up to help distribute drinks. 

Sanghyuk grins as he sets the bag of confections he bought down on an empty table and grabs a cookie before inviting everyone else to help themselves. He stops by the refrigerator, retrieving his lunch before he sits with Hongbin, sipping on his drink as he keeps an eye on Hakyeon and Taekwoon who are looking through the pastries, grinning when he sees Hakyeon holding the strawberry cake. 

“My plan is working,” Sanghyuk says with a smug look towards Hongbin.

“Huh?” Hongbin asks before following Sanghyuk’s look towards where Hakyeon and Taekwoon are.

Sanghyuk’s satisfaction starts to dissolve a second later. He can’t hear properly, but he watches as Taekwoon says something, gesturing at the cake Hakyeon is holding, then smile happily as Hakyeon nods and hands the treat to Taekwoon. Hakyeon returns to the bag, and selects the caramel one for himself and follows Taekwoon back to their table and settling in again. 

Sanghyuk feels his jaw drop and he has half a mind to say something, but Hongbin taps on the table, “Honestly, that was bound to happen.”

“What do you mean?” Sanghyuk asks, stabbing at his food with a little more aggression than necessary. This was not his plan. His plan was for Hakyeon to et strawberry and thank Sanghyuk for picking up his favorite.

“The reason Hakyeon favors strawberry is because it’s Taekwoon’s favorite,” Hongbin says with a grin. “Most of the time he’s just looking for a way to treat Taekwoon without being too obvious.”

Sanghyuk’s face twists into a pout as he continues his lunch, stoutly ignoring the other two off to the side and changing the subject to anything but their coworkers so he can pretend to eat in peace.

After lunch, he’s back at his desk, scrolling through the company Twitter and looking for new mentions or messages he needs to answer. It’s a fairly menial task, but one he likes since it allows him to inject some of himself into the brand and really cement a place for himself within the company.

“Thanks for the treats at lunch,” Hakyeon’s voice sounds from behind him.

Sanghyuk spins in his chair so he can face the other, “It was nothing, just a way to say thanks for taking such good care of me during my internship.” He’s feeling a little embarrassed that he’d offered the treats and a little silly that he’s upset that his flimsy plan of somehow wooing Hakyeon with store bought confections hadn’t worked out.

“You’re a great addition to the company and especially to sales. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll definitely talk to Hwang-nim and see if we can secure a place for you full time once the internship is over. It’s great having you around and the online store is coming along nicely now.”

Sanghyuk beams at this, ducking his head. He startles a little when Hakyeon’s fingers ruffle through his hair, a jolt running down his spine at the contact. The only other times Hakyeon had touched him were quick high fives in celebration, so this more intimate act feels like a blessing. His mood is immediately lifted.

“Keep up the good work!” Hakyeon says, smiling as he gives Sanghyuk a little wave and walks over to his own desk to continue working.

If there is a little more pep in Sanghyuk’s step the rest of the day who can blame him?

One Friday a few weeks later, he and Hongbin decide to go out to dinner after work. Sanghyuk goes to check in with Hakyeon one last time to make sure he isn’t needed still, but Hakyeon and Taekwoon are holed away in one of the conference rooms, heads bowed together over the documents spread out between them. He throws a wistful look at them through the window, then keeps walking towards Hongbin at reception knowing that his presence would only disturb the two working. 

Jaehwan and Wonshik are leaning against the counter, talking to Hongbin as he waits for Sanghyuk when he finally approaches. 

“You should watch one. This weekend we’re going to do a pizza mukbang,” Jaehwan is saying, a small whine hinting in his voice.

He’d been a little surprised to find out that Jaehwan moonlights as a YouTube creator, but his curiosity had won out and he’d subscribed out of solidarity and found that he generally enjoyed the videos the man produced.

“Jaehwan, I’m going to be honest, the last thing I want to hear this weekend is you chewing at me,” Hongbin replies solemnly after a few seconds of silence.

Sanghyuk couldn’t agree more, but he’s weak to Jaehwan’s pleas and usually ends up leaving a comment no matter how gross the smacking sounds of chewing are. He prefers the soap making and Lego building while eating videos to just the strictly eating ones since the sounds are less intense.

Jaehwan’s pout is fierce, but Wonshik wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to soothe him. It’s not the first time Sanghyuk has seen them like this, but Wonshik usually isn’t so bold.

“Gross,” Sanghyuk says as he comes up behind them and smacks both Wonshik and Jaehwan lightly on the shoulder.

Jaehwan curls further into Wonshik who reaches out a hand to slap Sanghyuk back. 

The teasing is nice. Feeling truly like he’s part of something now. Sanghyuk giggles as he dashes out of the way of any further acts of retaliation and looks at Hongbin instead, “Ready?” he asks Hongbin.

“More than,” Hongbin says, giving a small wave to Jaehwan and Wonshik as he slings his bag over his shoulder and follows Sanghyuk towards the doors. 

Their chatter is light as they wait for the elevator, Hongbin relaying some of the antics he’d witnessed throughout the day and Sanghyuk laughing at the image of Jaehwan messing up a lot of Wonshik’s shots by trying to talk to him even though he knows he’s not supposed to. Once they’re out on the street again, they set out towards the noodle place that Hongbin frequents and swears by. It’s only a few stops down from the station near their building and about halfway to Hongbin’s place, so it’s an easy decision on where to eat, especially with Hongbin’s insistence.

The place is on the smaller side, but luckily there’s a table near the far wall that Hongbin snakes his way towards while Sanghyuk follows, glancing around at the decorations. He takes the chair opposite Hongbin and grabs utensils for them both before glancing down at the menu in his hand. Once they’ve both ordered, he sits back in his chair to wait. 

“Your internship is up in about a month and a half, right?” Hongbin asks.

Sanghyuk nods, reaching over to pour each of them a glass of water. “Hakyeon hyung said before that he’s going to talk to Hwang-nim and recommend me for full time if there’s a position available.”

“Oh, that would be great,” Hongbin smiles, “We need some more permanent fresh blood around.”

They stop talking as the waitress arrives setting a beer down before each of them and then their food. Once they’ve nodded their thanks, they clink glasses and both take a sip. The atmosphere is nice, not too loud, but still lively and a far cry from their office where the loudest thing lately is Jaehwan laughing at one of Wonshik’s jokes.

Sanghyuk leans over his food, slurping noisily as he takes a bite. “I’m not sure I like being called ‘fresh blood” he says a minute later as Hongbin’s words replay in his head. “Makes me feel like you’re looking to attack me.”

“Maybe I am,” Hongbin shrugs before taking his own bite. “Maybe I wanted the sales job and not reception.” 

His eyes shine with a laugh even if his mouth stays serious.

Sanghyuk eyes him warily, keeping up the pretense before breaking into a grin, “Then you’d already have it. You like to complain, but you’re content to sit and watch everyone. I think you’ll change eventually, but not before you finish grad school. You’re too focused on that right now so you’re happy to sit back and coast, watching everyone around you and helping out when they don’t realize.”

Hongbin’s eyes widen and Sanghyuk feels proud of himself for catching him off guard. Hongbin is so observant, so methodical about what he does that it feels like a triumph. Over the few months he’s been there Sanghyuk noticed the small things Hongbin did when no one was looking; how he always stocked extra of the chocolate that Jaehwan preferred even if Hongbin never ate any of it himself.

“That’s right, I’m watching too,” he says with a smile, waggling his eyebrows a bit. 

“What other things have you noticed?” Hongbin asks, shifting slightly before reaching out and taking a long drink from his beer.

Sanghyuk takes his time chewing his next bite, using it to mull over the thoughts in his head. He’s comfortable with Hongbin, they’ve been spending more time together lately since Hakyeon has been preoccupied with Taekwoon and their sales pitch, and has found the other to be great company.

“Taekwoon isn’t nearly as scary as I thought he was,” Sanghyuk begins drawing a laugh.

“He’s really nice once he gets used to you. Needy as fuck, but nice,” Hongbin says sagely, eyes lighting up.

Sanghyuk snorts at the description, then continues, “Jaehwan is hilarious and head over heels for Wonshik. If they haven’t hooked up yet, then it’s only a matter of time. And Hakyeon…” he trails off, studying his bowl.

“And Hakyeon?” Hongbin prompts settling back in his chair and nursing his beer as he waits for Sanghyuk to continue.

“He’s competent,” Sanghyuk hedges, feeling the tips of his ears heat up. He catches Hongbin’s eye and winces. “Fine, he’s hot and I may have developed a crush, but I can’t seem to get close to him outside of work. I’ve tried inviting him to hang out, but he just tells me he’s too old for the places I invite him.” He takes another large bite to give himself something to do while he waits for judgment from Hongbin.

Hongbin snorts at this and Sanghyuk’s hackles rise. He _hates_ being laughed at.

“I’m not inviting him to the park or anything, just out to have drinks with some of my other friends,” he says, voice hardening once he’s chewed through the food in his mouth.

“Look, I was in undergrad with Hakyeon—he’s why I have a job here, and he’s just not that into going out for drinks in general, but especially with people so much younger than himself—not you specifically but just a group of people your age,” Hongbin says before Sanghyuk can protest. “As far as I know he’s a pretty big homebody when he’s not overworking himself,” he finishes.

“So you’re saying if I invited him somewhere that wasn’t a bar or club he’d say yes?” Sanghyuk asks, interest fully piqued now. 

“That’s not what I’m trying to say really,” Hongbin says, trying to gather his thoughts. “I think you’d have better luck if you were named Jung Taekwoon,” he finally mutters, then instantly regrets it.

Sanghyuk blinks back at him. Taekwoon? _Taekwoon?_ “Taekwoon?” he asks.

Hongbin drags a hand across his face, “Look, it’s nothing confirmed, but I’ve literally been watching them pine over each other for years. You saw part of it at lunch that one time—when you brought back the pastries? They are both blind dumbasses. I’m not saying you don’t have a chance, just that I don’t think you’re the only one with interest.”

Sanghyuk leans back, taking a drink of his own beer, “You said they’ve had years, right? And if neither has made a move by now, then it’s not crossing a line to try and see if Hakyeon would be open to the idea,” he says thoughtfully.

Hongbin shrugs, “You get to do whatever you want with the information you have as long as neither of my friends gets hurt.”

Those, Sanghyuk decides, are terms he can live with. He doesn’t want to fight Taekwoon or anything, but if he’s known Hakyeon for years and hasn’t made a move yet, then he’s crazy. Sanghyuk gives Hongbin a satisfied little smile and drains his glass, “You ready to go?”

Hongbin downs the rest of his own drink and waves the waitress over for their check. “Yeah, it’s time for you to get your ass kicked virtually I think,” he says with that smirk of his.

“Dream on,” Sanghyuk quips back.

—-

“Wonshikkie, is this my good side?”

“I’ve told you, you cannot talk to me while you and I are working,” Wonshik hisses.

Jaehwan huffs, face twisting into a pout as he swivels his chair to look at the cameraman properly. “But I’m bored and Taekwoon won’t talk to me because he’s ‘busy.’”

Much to Jaehwan’s dismay, Wonshik keeps ignoring him. He turns back around and tries to focus on the open document in front of him. It’s only a few minutes until work is over for the day and he’s actually ahead of schedule for his projects at the moment, so he feels justified in playing around. He keeps up his pretense of working, making a show of shuffling through printouts and typing as loudly as he can until it’s an acceptable time to leave. 

“Taekwoonie, It’s quitting time!” he says fifteen minutes later, spinning to face the quieter man beside him.

“Can’t, presentation Thursday,” Taekwoon says without even so much as a glance in his direction.

Jaehwan opens his mouth to point out that Taekwoon doesn’t give presentations, but just shrugs and turns to tap his papers back into a neat pile before settling them into the folder on the corner of his desk. He shuts down his computer then reaches under his desk to retrieve his bag before standing up and turning to beam at Wonshik. “You should come home with me,” he says brightly.

Taekwoon makes a muffled noise of surprise from beside him.

“What?” Wonshik squeaks, eyes widening as he fumbles with his camera, cheeks tinting a lovely shade of red.

“You should come hang out with me. We should film another video together,” Jaehwan says slowly, thoroughly enjoying how flustered Wonshik looks right now.

“Oh, hang out,” Wonshik says, voice a mixture of relief and disappointment.

“Did you want something else?” Jaehwan asks innocently as Wonshik’s cheeks get redder.

“Please stop.”

Taekwoon’s quiet plea has Jaehwan howling with laughter and Wonshik fleeing back to the small storage area the crew keeps their camera bags in while filming. 

“I really wasn’t trying to make that dirty, but I’m so glad that you’re both prudes,” Jaehwan says with a cackle.

Taekwoon makes weak noises of protest, but Jaehwan ignores him, tossing a quick ‘goodbye’ at him before making his way over to the empty reception area. He snags a chocolate and a sticky note and pen off of Hongbin’s desk and writes a quick note _I hope your test went well! Hongbinnie fighting!_ before sticking it to the monitor and leaning with his back on the desk to wait for Wonshik.

Once Wonshik returns, Jaehwan slips into step beside him and they make their way back to his place. It’s a familiar routine by now, a journey they’ve made together often over the few months they’ve known one another. Their relationship has been a bit of a whirlwind, but Jaehwan isn’t questioning his luck right now and just wants to keep Wonshik as close as he can for as long as he can. It’s a bonus that they have so much in common.

Once they’re inside Jaehwan’s apartment, Wonshik toes off his shoes and, without waiting for Jaehwan, makes his way into the living room and collapses face first into the cushions of the sofa. Jaehwan laughs and perches himself on Wonshik’s legs, ignoring his muffled yelp, and makes himself comfortable as he scrolls through his phone.

“I know I’ve already filmed a pizza show, but I think we should experiment with pizza tonight,” he says after a few minutes of searching.

Wonshik turns his face so that his cheek is pressed against the cushion instead, “What exactly are you trying to do to pizza?” he asks warily.

“Not me, Dominoes. They have one with the bubble tea pearls on it as a topping,” Jaehwan says.

“That sounds like the worst idea,” Wonshik sighs.

Jaehwan grins, adding it to his cart along with a couple of orders of spicy chicken wings. 

Jaehwan lets Wonshik doze lightly as they wait for their order to arrive. He spends the time checking that his filming space is still framed correctly and in focus and that his battery is charged. They’d once filmed a whole video without realizing the battery died five minutes in and Jaehwan had lost priceless footage of Wonshik attempting to make mixed drinks and he will never forgive himself for it. When the doorbell buzzes though, he shakes his boyfriend lightly before going to answer. 

He thanks the delivery man, taking the food and bringing it inside, setting it on the table. He has to shake Wonshik again to get him moving, but luckily the smell of the food helps and Wonshik sits up before pushing himself to his feet and trudging after Jaehwan. 

Once Wonshik is seated, Jaehwan checks the frame of the shot again and sits down next to him. He reaches out and runs his fingers through Wonshik’s hair, combing it back into place and enjoying the feel of it under his fingers and relishing in the contented noise it draws out of the other. “Ready?” he asks.

At Wonshik’s nod, Jaehwan presses record and turns on his YouTube persona. “Hello and welcome back to my channel ! Can Eat !t! where I am once again joined by my very special guest, Wonshik. Tonight we have a couple of treats in store for you!”

He reaches over and grabs one of the orders of wings, opening it up and tilting it so it is in frame, but won’t fall out of the container and onto the table. He’d made that mistake before and lost an entire dish he was going to eat. “First, but probably not going to be eaten first, is spicy wings! You know I’m not good with spicy foods, but I know you like watching me eat them so I will suffer for you,” he says before pushing his bottom lip out into a pout.

Wonshik snorts beside him and places a hand on the small of Jaehwan’s back where the camera can’t see, rubbing lightly in a soothing motion. 

Jaehwan fights off a smile. “And this is the one I’m really excited about which is why we’re starting with it—bubble tea pizza!” He grabs the box, opening it and tilting it too so that it can be seen. His enthusiasm is quickly waning in face of the actual look of the pizza though. It’s more pearls than he had anticipated per slice and the thought of the textures clashing is starting to give him second thoughts.

Wonshik stays silent next to him but puts the chicken back out of frame so that the pizza can lay flat between them.

“I’m really curious about this one,” Jaehwan starts, studying the pizza. He grabs one of the slices by the crust, one that looks like it has less pearls on it than the others, “What about you, Wonshikkie?” he asks, tossing a glance at the other.

“Can’t say I am,” Wonshik says as he dutifully takes his own slice. 

Jaehwan throws him a look before taking a generous bite of his slice. He immediately regrets the decision. The texture is chewier than he expected, the pearls not quite as done as he likes. He powers through the bite, chewing as little as possible to get it down without choking. He turns to see Wonshik nibbling at the end of his slice nowhere near any of the pearls and sighs.

“It’s…chewy!” Jaehwan says looking for an adjective that could pretend to sound neutral for now. “You know what I think may help the flavor?” he asks the camera, reaching just out of frame to where a bag is. “GARLIC DIPPING SAUCE!”

His volume startles Wonshik who jumps slightly and gives him a look. Jaehwan preens under the gaze.

He opens a sauce packet and empties it onto the slice, working to cover the entire surface so none of the pearls are visible. “Let’s see how this changes the flavor,” he says before taking another bite. The taste is better, but the texture is still unpleasant, so he empties another half packet of sauce onto the same piece and polishes it off as quickly as possible. 

Wonshik only eats half of his slice before he gives in and Jaehwan scowls at him. 

“So the verdict on the bubble tea pizza is that the taste is okay with garlic dipping sauce added, but it’s too chewy. I think they should cook the pearls more so it feels better.”

Wonshik nods at his side, then cracks open a can of Pepsi and downs half of it in one go. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s something I’ll order again,” he says after he’s swallowed.

“You know what this means? It’s wings time,” Jaehwan says closing the lid of the pizza box and swapping it for the smaller box of chicken wings. He keeps his sauce close at hand, already knowing he’ll need it to try and combat some of the spice from the wing sauce.

As predicted, only two bites into the wing, his lips are tingling and he can’t feel his tongue anymore. “It hurts,” he says, throwing a sad look to the camera and fanning off his tongue with his hand. “Why did I let you suggest spicy?” he asks the camera before reaching once again for his trusty sauce. 

Jaehwan can see Wonshik wincing out of the corner of his eye as he dumps the rest of the packet of sauce onto the wing in his fingers before he finishes getting as much meat off of the bone as he can. He uses several more packets of sauce as he continues to eat the wings, but only makes it through half of the order before he throws in the towel.

He keeps his commentary going throughout eating, mostly complaining more and more about the spice and how delicious the sauce is on the chicken.

Wonshik has fared slightly better with the wings, but he also hasn’t managed to finish them in the end. Jaehwan slings an arm over his shoulder and beams at the camera, “Well, I think both Wonshikkie and I are full so we’re going to end the video here. What are your final thoughts?” he asks turning to Wonshik.

“Uh, if I’m ordering from Dominos, I’ll go for the chicken over the bubble tea pizza.”

“I’ll agree, but also remind you that the true key to delicious food is always garlic dipping sauce! Thanks for joining us on another episode of ! Can Eat !t!” Jaehwan said, throwing a finger heart to the camera and urging Wonshik to do the same.

As soon as the camera is off, Wonshik turns to him, “That was seriously the worst pizza I’ve had in my life, you owe me.”

Jaehwan smiles, then sways forward and presses a kiss to Wonshik’s lips, “You’re the best boyfriend for eating that with me,” he says against Wonshik’s lips before pressing another kiss to them.

Wonshik huffs out a laugh, then kisses back, parting his lips and letting Jaehwan lick inside his mouth. He pulls back, nose wrinkled and stares at Jaehwan.

“You taste so gross right now,” he laughs.

“So do you, but you don’t hear me complaining,” Jaehwan counters before kissing Wonshik one last time. “Fine, you get your wish. No more kisses until we’ve both brushed our teeth then,” he says twisting away and standing up.

“That’s not what I meant!” Wonshik protests, making grabby hands at Jaehwan who stays out of reach as he gathers the boxes up to begin sorting the trash from the recycling. 

“Too bad, I’m busy now.”

Jaehwan smiles when Wonshik groans, but pushes himself up from the table so he can help finish cleaning up. Soon the leftover food has been dealt with and garbage sorted, so Jaehwan takes hold of Wonshik’s wrist and pulls him towards the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Wonshik asks on a laugh when Jaehwan pulls him inside.

“We’re brushing our teeth,” Jaehwan says opening his medicine cabinet and pawing through it for a second. “Here,” he says thrusting a new toothbrush at the other.

Wonshik blinks a couple of times before letting out a quick bark of laughter, “You were serious.”

“I’m always serious,” Jaehwan says taking hold of his own toothbrush and squirting a line of toothpaste along the bristles. “Now get brushing so I can kiss you again.”

Wonshik, the good boy that he is, does as asked.

They spend the night curled up together on the couch, Jaehwan asking about future projects Wonshik is planning on producing and adding his own ideas about more collaborations in the future. 

“You know,” Jaehwan says sleepily once they’d deemed it too late for Wonshik to go home and had migrated to his bed, “Not everything at Jelpi is great, but I’m very glad it’s brought me you.”

Wonshik groans, turning to bury his face in Jaehwan’s neck and Jaehwan grins at him. 

—-

Taekwoon sighs and pushes back from his desk. He takes a second, lets his head hang, before he stands and stretches, arching his back a little to relieve some of the tension that has built from his slouch. It’s been a long morning, but he’s meeting Hakyeon for a working lunch and that perks him up a bit, even if he won’t let it show.

“I’m taking lunch,” he says to Jaehwan absently as he tries to think of what he’ll need.

“Isn’t it early?” Jaehwan asks from his own desk where, surprisingly, he’s actually working instead of chatting with everyone else and flirting with Wonshik like usual.

“Hakyeonnie has a meeting later, so I’m going to help him finalize while it’s quieter since the conference room is reserved today,” Taekwoon replies grabbing the folder off the corner of his desk and waving it. He turns without waiting for a response from the other. 

He makes a quick stop by Hongbin’s desk, grabbing two of the small chocolates, one for him and one for Hakyeon. He snorts when he sees Wonshik watching over Hongbin’s shoulder as the receptionist once again plays a game on his phone, eyes trained on the screen and ignoring Taekwoon.

“There’s someone crouched down behind—”

“I told you, I don’t need any backseat gaming. Please stop trying to help,” Hongbin says cutting off Wonshik.

Wonshik looks wounded and Taekwoon can’t help but laugh, breath huffing out lightly as he tries to cover it. “You’re getting to be as bad as Jaehwan with ignoring your work,” he says lightly.

Wonshik’s jaw drops, but no retort leaves his lips.

Taekwoon hears a laugh from behind him and glances back to see Insub covering his own mouth, the camera slightly shaking in his hold as he watches his boss and Hongbin. Taekwoon gives Wonshik a quick smile before he continues on his way to the breakroom, Insub in tow still trying to reign in his laughter at his boss’s expense.

When Taekwoon nears the room, he hears voices which isn’t what he is expecting. He slows down on instinct, not fully intending to eavesdrop, but also not wanting to interrupt a private conversation if he doesn’t have to. What he hears though makes his stomach drop.

"Do you think you could have loved me?" Sanghyuk asks, his voice so soft, so low, so different from the loud kid they have known.

Taekwoon freezes and throws a panicked look at Insub with his hand still on the doorknob. 

"I do love you, Hyuk-ah, just not in the way you want me to love you. You’re my precious intern and a great friend. 

Taekwoon can practically hear the wince in Hakyeon’s voice as he finishes his sentence. 

“I understand,” Sanghyuk says quickly. 

Taekwoon has just enough time to throw himself to the side, barely avoiding the door as Sanghyuk flees from the room heading straight towards the entrance doors. He feels bad for Sanghyuk, truly. He knows what it’s like to love Hakyeon and not have him love you back. 

“I don’t think now’s a good time,” he mumbles toward Insub and retreats back to his own desk.

His head is spinning a little, he doesn’t even register Jaehwan’s question as he sits back down and mechanically starts to work again. He pushes all thoughts that are not immediate task related out of his brain and ends up working through his regular lunch. It’s only after Jaehwan shakes him gently to tell him goodbye that he realizes that Hakyeon had never come searching for him. He doesn’t want to think too hard about why Hakyeon didn’t seek him out as usual. 

A million thoughts swirl through his head as he packs up, again not even registering if anyone is trying to speak with him as he makes his way to the door. He feels like he’s living in a fog as he gets home. On some level he knows he should have expected this. Hakyeon is too good for no one else to love him, but Taekwoon has simply taken for granted the fact that Hakyeon had never seemed interested in anyone else. 

Even though he heard him reject Sanghyuk, the fact that Sanghyuk _actually_ asked has shaken Taekwoon. Started some proverbial clock ticking and making it more evident than ever that if he wants to see if Hakyeon is open to trying something with him, he needs to make a move of his own sooner rather than later. The illusion of all of the time he had assured himself existed as he worked the courage up to ask Hakyeon out has shattered.

Normally he would call Hakyeon and whine about his problems, see if he had a solution worth trying, but this he couldn’t do. He thinks about Jaehwan, but dismisses that immediately because Jaehwan has been making fun of him for the last eternity about being too chicken to act on his feelings. He knows Jaehwan wouldn’t intentionally steer him wrong, but Jaehwan’s brand of wooing and Taekwoon’s are two very different beasts. He wallows for a few more minutes before the buzz of his phone startles him. Hakyeon’s name in the notification bar has him wincing even as he unlocks his phone on instinct

_I missed you at lunch today._

**I got distracted, sorry**

He hates lying, but the last thing he is doing is admitting he overheard Sanghyuk’s failed confession and had a minor mental breakdown over it.

_It’s fine, I was a little distracted myself. The meeting went well though so thanks for you help from before!_

Taekwoon breathes a sigh of relief.

**I’m glad it went well. I’ll be at lunch tomorrow, I promise**

_Good. Have a good night, Taekwoonie._

**You too. Goodnight.**

However brief, the conversation leaves Taekwoon feeling marginally better than he had when he’d left the office earlier. Ready or not it seems, he’s going to have to see if Hakyeon is interested in him as more than a friend, and sooner than later.

He doesn’t sleep well that night. He tosses and turns, and eventually gives up around 4:00 am to go make some coffee.

The next morning, Taekwoon can’t decide on what to wear, so he ends up missing his usual train and is a few minutes late into the office. He slinks in, hoping no one notices, but immediately Jaehwan is next to him. Taekwoon sighs, bracing himself.

“Are you okay?”

The gentleness of Jaehwan’s voice is enough to surprise Taekwoon. He turns to face him and gives him a small, grateful smile. “I’m okay, thank you.”

“What happened yesterday?”

Jaehwan’s lowered his voice, so hopefully the cameras don’t pick up as much, but in reality they both know it’s a lost cause.

“I think I have to tell Hakyeon I love him,” Taekwoon says quickly, voice barely a whisper.

Jaehwan’s jaw drops. He opens and closes his mouth, trying and failing to come up with an adequate response and Taekwoon would think it was funny if he wasn’t the cause of it. “What happened at lunch?” Jaehwan finally asks, eyes going wide.

Taekwoon lets out a little wounded noise, he doesn’t want to spill any secrets, make anyone else feel uncomfortable, so he shakes his head, “I just realized it’s time,” he replies, eyes on the floor between him and Jaehwan.

Jaehwan makes a skeptical sound, but then takes a deep breath. His hand is warm on Taekwoon’s shoulder when he squeezes it, “I’m saying this with all the love I have in my heart for you, but it is about fucking time.”

Taekwoon can’t stop the desperate laugh that leaves him as he meets Jaehwan’s gaze and nods, “I know.”

Lunch is a little awkward, Taekwoon feeling a little stiff, his movements around Hakyeon are jerky and he overthinks everything. He notices that Sanghyuk goes out of his way to avoid Hakyeon, that he’s angled himself so that he can’t even see him as he and Hongbin eat on the far side of the little room.

Taekwoon tries to ignore him, to focus on Hakyeon and acting as normal as possible, but nothing feels right. He sends up a small prayer of thanks when his phone buzzes and he sees his mom’s name on the display. He bids Hakyeon farewell and gratefully chats with her about his niece’s upcoming birthday until it’s time to go back to work.

Later that day, Hakyeon makes his usual afternoon snack drop and Taekwoon shoots Jaehwan a warning look when the latter looks a little too excited to see Hakyeon appear. Taekwoon tries his best to relax, leaning back into Hakyeon’s touch as they chat lightly about plans for the weekend and the next time he has to travel for a presentation.

“You should try and bring Daeguni with you—he looks like he could use a vacation,” Jaehwan says when Hakyeon mentions his next trip will be to Busan in a few weeks.

“I don’t go for vacation, it’s for work,” Hakyeon counters before Taekwoon can finish making his plan to kill Jaehwan. “If I was taking Taekwoonie on vacation it would be to a nice beach in Bali or something, not to somewhere he can go whenever he wants.”

Taekwoon promptly chokes on one of the chips and Hakyeon thumps him on the back helpfully while Jaehwan cackles.

“I stand…err sit corrected,” Jaehwan says with that shit eating grin of his while Taekwoon is still recovering from his near death experience and gulps down water. 

“Anyway, I have to stay late tonight so think of me when you’re both home and relaxing while I am talking to someone on the opposite side of the world,” Hakyeon says with a wistful sigh. He gives Taekwoon’s hair one last ruffle before bidding them both goodbye and making his way back to the sales area.

“I will murder you in your sleep,” Taekwoon hisses, voice a little scratchy still from choking, once Hakyeon is out of earshot. 

Jaehwan, the picture of innocence, widens his eyes dramatically, “What did I do?”

Taekwoon would throw something at him if the cameras weren’t there. He’s smart enough to know that he can’t be caught on camera destroying company property, or assaulting other coworkers, so instead he spins to face his screen once again, resolutely ignoring the triumphant laugh Jaehwan lets out.

He spends the rest of the afternoon thinking about potential vacation plans with Hakyeon instead of being as efficient as he usually is, so by the time 5:00 rolls around he’s not done with his task list for the day. He could push it to tomorrow, catch up then, but Hakyeon’s mention of working late stops him. He stays seated as Jaehwan packs up, and is spared further teasing since this is a normal occurrence.

He spends the next hour and a half working through his list, ticking off tasks one by one and feeling more and more accomplished as the afternoon wears on. He’s worked late plenty of times before, but tonight it feels different. He has a new purpose. After he’s finally finished, he decides to go check in on Hakyeon before he leaves. He makes his way back towards sales and Hakyeon’s cutely decorated cubicle. 

He doesn’t mean to sneak up on Hakyeon, but when he places a hand on Hakyeon’s shoulder, leaning over to steal a glance at the document the other is so focused on, Hakyeon lets out a startled yelp and then spins around, hand reaching out to smack Taekwoon in the side of the head with more force than Taekwoon would have ever expected. 

“Oh my god,” Hakyeon screams once he’s fully facing Taekwoon. “Are you okay?” he asks, clutching his own chest. At Taekwoon’s weak nod, Hakyeon reaches out and smacks Taekwoon a couple more times, this time on the chest and shoulder, “What is wrong with you? Do _not_ sneak up on people when they think they are alone in a building. I think my life flashed before my eyes.”

Taekwoon can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him at Hakyeon’s panicked state. His self-preservation instincts kick in and he ducks out of the way before Hakyeon can smack him again for laughing. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just coming to check on you,” he says holding his hands up in an offer of peace.

“Why are you even here?” Hakyeon demands, voice hard.

“I had work too, I’m sorry if I bothered you. I just wanted to tell you not to work too hard and get home safe.” Taekwoon feels like a kicked puppy. He had thought Hakyeon’s initial reaction had been out of surprise, but now he’s worried that he really is angry and all Taekwoon had done was to disturb him. He gives Hakyeon a sad little smile then turns to leave.

“Wait, no, I’m sorry!” Hakyeon says reaching out and grabbing hold of his wrist before Taekwoon can leave. “I was just really startled and didn’t react right. Really, I’m sorry, please don’t leave yet.”

“This was not as smooth as I had hoped,” Taekwoon laughs, then immediately wants to disappear. Those weren’t the words he’d wanted to come out. He’s still formulating this plan. Is nowhere near ready to tell Hakyeon.

“What does that mean?” Hakyeon asks curiously.

Taekwoon won’t meet his eyes. He keeps his gaze locked on the floor, the ugly blue carpet between them. The loose plan he’s been formulating was to ease into it with a few more dinners out and more time to gauge and see if Hakyeon really could feel the same way. Maybe, just maybe, he can get out of this.

“I just meant I didn’t mean to scare you,” Taekwoon hedges. Even to his own ears the words are thin. 

“Taekwoonie, you and I both know you’re lying,” Hakyeon says.

Taekwoon swallows, pulls his lower lip between his teeth and stares just behind Hakyeon at his desk. It’s decorated so much like him. Photos of his family, a small cactus in the corner angled to get sunlight during the day. It looks inviting and homey.

“Taekwoon.”

With a sigh, Taekwoon finally looks back at Hakyeon, his smile a little sad. “I heard you and Sanghyuk yesterday. In the breakroom,” he clarifies needlessly. Hakyeon’s mouth is a perfect o and Taekwoon plows on. “I didn’t mean to, I guess I was a couple of minutes early so I heard him. And You. I left before either of you saw me, because I know if I was Sanghyuk I wouldn’t want anyone to know. I’m sorry for hearing that.”

Hakyeon shifts, hands coming up to smooth down his sideburns out of nerves.

“I just—when I heard him my heart stopped for a second I think. I don’t know if you know or not, but I think I’ve been half in love with you since the day we met,” Taekwoon finally says, words nearly tripping over themselves as they finally leave his mouth. “I always took for granted that there would be time to work up to telling you, to make sure that it would be okay, but I never could work myself up to it. Yesterday though. Yesterday I realized that if I never told you, if I never even tried, then you would never say yes.”

Hakyeon’s eyes are wide, his hand coming up to cover his mouth and Taekwoon wishes he would say something, _anything_. “This isn’t how I planned on telling you and I’m sorry again if it’s too soon after Sanghyuk, but this is it.”

Hakyeon reaches out with the same hand he had covering his face and his fingers are soft as they trail down Taekwoon’s arm to tangle with his fingers. “I think we’ve been in the same position for almost as long,” Hakyeon breathes stepping forward to bridge the distance between them.

Taekwoon thinks he’s having an out of body experience. He uses Hakyeon’s hand in his to urge him a little closer, eyes searching as he studies Hakyeon to see if he has any objections. Taekwoon leans in slowly, and finally presses their lips together.

The kiss is chaste, but it is enough. Hakyeon pulls back with a bubbling laugh and Taekwoon ducks his head to hide his own smile.

“I’m sorry I took so long to work up the courage,” he says, playing with Hakyeon’s fingers where they are still entwined with his own. “I didn’t want to ruin anything.”

“There’s two of us chickens here,” Hakyeon grins back. “I don’t think it will be a real problem, but would you mind keeping this quiet for just a little while? It’s nothing with you,” he says quickly as the smile slides off Taekwoon’s face. “I just don’t want to twist the knife any further into Sanghyuk. He really is a good kid, but I just don’t feel the same way towards him and I don’t want to hurt him.”

Taekwoon nods, “Of course, that makes sense. I’m not much of a public displays person anyway.”

“And since we work together we want to maintain a professional front as well,” Hakyeon adds. “Anyway, let’s get off company property so I can really kiss you,” he grins devilishly.

Taekwoon swallows thickly and waits for Hakyeon to shut down his computer and pack his things. He practically bounces on the way out, years of pent up feelings finally able to break through. He stops near reception, face paling as he sees the little red blinking dot. 

“Hakyeon,” he whispers.

Hakyeon turns to him, brow furrowed.

“The night cameras. For when we work overtime so they don’t miss anything. I forgot they installed those in all of the rooms,” he says forlornly. “We have to make sure Wonshik doesn’t have any ideas of a dramatic love triangle or anything.”

Hakyeon’s eyes narrow, but he shakes his head quickly, “That’s not his style. But I did forget about the cameras too. Well, I guess at least our first kiss will be preserved forever?”

Taekwoon sighs and nods, head hanging as he follows Hakyeon the rest of the way out of the office.

—-

Hongbin isn’t sure what, but he knows _something_ is off. He suspects it has something with Sanghyuk finally shooting his shot with Hakyeon, and the latter turning him down. It’s the only thing he can come up with that would make Sanghyuk seem to flee the room seemingly whenever Hakyeon even looks his way.

He’s not quite sure how to broach the topic though, so instead he just sits with Sanghyuk at lunch and talks about games, school, soccer, pretty much anything non-work related.

“My last final is Friday evening, so I think after it’s over I’m going to just go home and play games until I pass out to celebrate,” Hongbin says to a half-listening Sanghyuk. He can tell because the other’s eyes keep straying over to where Hakyeon and Taekwoon are eating together despite his obvious efforts to ignore them. “You’re welcome to come hang out if you don’t have plans.”

Sanghyuk nods distractedly and Hongbin snorts, knowing that the other isn’t actually going to come over on Friday unless he extends the invite again somewhere out of view of Hakyeon and Taekwoon.

Later, when Hakyeon stops by on his way for his daily snack delivery to Taekwoon, Hongbin gestures him closer.

Hakyeon’s brow is furrowed as he nods and leans against the counter.

Hongbin gives Wonshik a look, hoping that the other will at least pretend to spare them some privacy, but the cameraman simply watches them, expression neutral. With a sigh, he turns back to Hakyeon. He’s torn. He wants to ask, but knows it’s not really his business. He’s also wondering if the GROOVL1N crew already knows about it, or if by asking Hakyeon he’s potentially spilling secrets that aren’t his. 

“Binnie?”

Hakyeon’s head is tilted to the side in question and Hongbin hates himself. He too had fallen for him so he knows just how hard Cha Hakyeon is to get over. 

“Screw it,” Hongbin mutters before steeling himself. “Did something happen with you and Sanghyuk?” Hongbin pitches his voice as low as possible, but he knows the mics pic up more than he would like anyway, so it’s almost a fruitless gesture. But it’s there nonetheless. 

Hakyeon’s eyes only widen for a fraction of a second before he’s smiling brightly, “Why would you ask that?”

Hongbin’s eyes narrow, the non-answer is answer enough. So he is more than likely right. “I just noticed he’s seemed a little different lately. The only time I see you two in the same room anymore is at lunch.” The pleading look Hakyeon gives him is enough for now, so Hongbin relents. “I just was checking. Now go give Taekwoon his snacks before he comes over here and yells at me,” he says with an easy smile.

Hakyeon nods and taps the desk a couple of times in reply before giving Hongbin a wave and making his way over to Taekwoon.

Hongbin swivels his chair to face Wonshik, “You know something, don’t you?” he asks. 

Wonshik shrugs.

“I hate you,” Hongbin says darkly before turning to answer the ringing phone. “Thank you for calling JellyPaper Co, how may I direct your call?” he asks brightly into the receiver.

Once he’s done with the call, he turns back to his books, re-reading the study guide and going over the relevant information. He is so close to a break and is really looking forward to a few months off before classes start back once again. He loses himself in the chapter, blocking out anything that isn’t his immediate work area so Hakyeon’s “Hongbinnie, fighting!” has him jerking his head up to give the other an annoyed look.

Hakyeon grins, tosses him a wave, and returns to his desk.

Friday after his final, Hongbin decides to stop in at the noodle place again and get an order to go so he can get his gaming session started as soon as he gets home. He enters as usual and joins the short queue at the counter, waiting on his turn to order. He glances around, noting that the place is quieter than he expected for this time on a Friday, but shrugs it off. After he’s ordered, he shuffles over to the little area off to the side where he can be out of the way but still ready to grab his order quickly.

A loud familiar laugh catches his attention and he turns, craning his neck so he can see and sure enough, it is Hakyeon laughing. And Taekwoon across from him. He’s about to say something when Hakyeon reaches out and runs his thumb under Taekwoon’s bottom lip, collecting the sauce that had gathered there. He cringes as he watches Hakyeon pull his thumb back and bring it to his lips, sucking it clean.

“Well, that explains things,” he sighs to himself. 

He debates on how to handle this. Ultimately he isn’t upset at either of them, he knows this was the natural course of action, but he needs to know how Sanghyuk fits in. Against his better judgment, once he has his food in hand, he walks over to their table ,smile plastered on his face.

“Hi Hyungs,” he says cheerfully.

Hakyeon squeaks and Taekwoon stares at him, eyes wide.

“Hongbin holds up his order, “I just stopped to grab food on my way home and didn’t think I’d run into anyone I know.” He turns to Hakyeon, a smirk on his face, “So I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is why Sanghyuk has been so weird around you lately?”

Hakyeon’s face falls and Hongbin feels a little sorry for him. He decides to take pity so the elder doesn’t beat himself up too much for breaking Sanghyuk’s heart.

“I tried to warn him, honestly,” Hongbin says after a beat. “You two getting together was obvious to everyone that wasn’t yourselves—and I guess Sanghyuk—so I don’t think a single person will be surprised when you decide to go public with it. Or well, office public anyway,” Hongbin says glancing around the half-filled restaurant with a wry smile.

“It’s still new?” Hakyeon says before he throws a desperate glance at Taekwoon. 

“I overheard Sanghyuk confessing to Hakyeonnie and even though he said no, I realized that he really might find someone else, so I confessed to him,” Taekwoon says quickly. “I know it’s soon after, but I panicked.”

Hongbin sighs. He can’t even fault the two idiots for finally realizing, but does wish they had waited just a little longer. He won’t lie to Sanghyuk on their behalf, but omitting the fact that he accidentally crashed their date is a detail he can leave out during lunch on Monday. “I’m going to pretend like this never happened, go home, and enjoy my weekend. I really am happy for you two, but also think you’re dumbasses. See you Monday.”

He leaves with a smile and a wave before either can respond.

True to his word, Hongbin spends his weekend playing games, eating take out, and sleeping odd hours. Monday morning he’s yawning at his monitor as Hakyeon and Taekwoon enter together, a fond smile on Hakyeon’s face as he watches Taekwoon sip from the coffee in his hand.

“Good morning, Hongbinnie,” Hakyeon says, stopping at the desk to talk.

“Morning,” Hongbin responds dully. 

“Did you sleep at all this weekend?” Hakyeon frowns back at him.

“Yes, Mom. Just not as much last night because we were playing a campaign and I was running point. Now please stop fawning over me and go bother someone else.”

Hakyeon pats his head gently before continuing on his way to his own desk.

Minutes later, Hongbin is still yawning when Sanghyuk enters the doors. “Morning,” he calls out to the other, hoping to get his attention.

“Good morning,” Sanghyuk replies, stifling a yawn of his own.

“Long night?” Hongbin asks when Sanghyuk stops at his desk.

“Yeah, A couple of my friends dragged me out all weekend and I did the irresponsible thing and got home early this morning. I’m running on fumes and some coffee, honestly.”

Hongbin winces sympathetically. While he hadn’t been out, he’d still gotten far less sleep than one should when they have a respectable 9-5 job. He pushes the snack jar a little close to Sanghyuk, a grin on his face, “Get a sugar rush for breakfast. I won’t tell if you don’t,” he says with a smile.

The crinkling of Sanghyuk’s eyes as he takes a couple of the miniature candy bars makes Hongbin’s stomach flip and a flash of panic runs through him. _Not again_ he thinks desperately as he watches Sanghyuk wave and walk off. _It’s too soon anyway._ he decides as he squashes down any feelings before they can get a mind of their own.

—-

It’s been two months since _The Incident_ as Sanghyuk likes to refer to it. He can finally look Hakyeon in the eye again. He’s also not sure at what point he realized that Hakyeon and Taekwoon had officially become a thing, but he does know they are terrible at keeping it secret. He’s not as crushed as he’d once feared he would be at the sight of Hakyeon being sweet to someone that isn’t him, but he does get a little stab of pain, like a quick paper cut, whenever he sees Hakyeon absently reaching for Taekwoon, or adjusting his tie, or well, anything.

Maybe he’s not as over it as he’d thought.

He bypasses their table and drops into the seat across from Hongbin. He thinks it’s funny that they’ve all established their own “places” at lunch and is grateful that even before _The Incident_ he’s been eating with Hongbin. “You know, actually working here instead of jsut being an intern is more anticlimactic than I was expecting,” he says.

“What did you want? A ‘you’re getting benefits now!’ party?” Hongbin asks, nose wrinkling with the question.

Sanghyuk throws the balled up wrapper of his sandwich at him in reply and they eat amicably, Sanghyuk listening to Hongbin recount his play through of another game the previous night. 

“You should come over this weekend,” Hongbin says after he finishes his story, “it’s been a while.” 

Sanghyuk nods, “Yeah, that sounds good. I could use a good bloodbath,” he replies thoughtfully.

He delights in the look Hongbin sends him, that mix of weirded out and amused. It’s the only reason he says things like this. He loves the way it makes Hongbin look.

“Sometimes I worry about you, you know?”

Sanghyuk shrugs, “You’re the one that called me fresh blood when we first started hanging out. I’m just following your example, Hyung.”

“Such a brat,” Hongbin laughs. 

When Sanghyuk returns to his desk after lunch, he finds he can tune Hakyeon out a little more easily than he has been able to recently. The clicking of the keys as he types isn’t quite as distracting and those little noises he makes as he goes through his work aren’t quite as cute. 

“Sanghyuk?”

The aforementioned startles slightly at his name, head whipping around to face a slightly sheepish looking Hakyeon.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just wondering if you’d finalized the next theme you’re going to be using across our platforms. Hwang-nim asked me this morning and I told him I would find out from you.”

Sanghyuk nods a little too quickly, “Yeah, I did. Do you want me to describe it or give you like, a formal writeup of it so he can approve?” he asks, gesturing at his monitor.

“Verbal is fine. I’ll sell Hwang-nim on it if needed,” Hakyeon shrugs. 

Sanghyuk swallows thickly as Hakyeon settles against the empty desk next to him, leaning back and waiting for Sanghyuk to begin. He appreciates how quickly Hakyeon got back to treating him like normal, but moments like these, when Hakyeon’s sleeves are pushed up to his elbows and his forearms are exposed, Sanghyuk’s crush jumps from an ember back into a flame.

“I was thinking of running a photo contest. Having people submit the ways they use our paper and which products they like to use with them with a small caption of why. We could maybe look into potential partnerships for collaborations with other merchants as a result.”

Hakyeon’s face brightens. The flame in Sanghyuk’s belly flares.

“I love the idea. What kind of prize are you thinking of for the winner?”

“A discount on a future order or even a store credit for whatever you and Hwang-nim decide is an appropriate amount. I was going to start teasing the contest later this week and run it for three weeks starting on Monday,” Sanghyuk replies. “I knew I would need approval before even starting, so I’m glad you asked today.”

“I’ll run it by Hwang-nim either later today or early tomorrow and get you the final approved details after he gives the okay and we run it by legal to work out the fine details. It may need to be pushed back a week or two so everyone can sign off on it.”

Sanghyuk nods, relieved that his suggestion had been received so well. He never thought his future would lie primarily in social media marketing and sales, but he’s having more fun than he imagined he would when Hakyeon first suggested it. “Thanks, Hyung,” he says with a smile.

Hakyeon smiles back at him fondly before he returns to his desk. Sanghyuk watches as Hakyeon opens the top drawer and pulls out a packet of chips and disappears from their area.

And just like that the flame is snuffed out once again as reality crashes back over Sanghyuk reminding him that Taekwoon is the one Hakyeon is in love with. The one he chose.

“Idiot,” he mutters to himself as he spins back around to cycle back through the company social media accounts. He pulls out his phone and opens his chat with Hongbin, considering his words carefully.

_what do you say to an out of the apartment adventure this weekend instead of just staying home and playing ovrwatch?_

**Why?**

_i have an idea. i think you’ll like it._

**You’re not telling me what it is are you?**

Sanghyuk grins at his phone, he can already feel the victory.

_nope. just tell me if saturday afternoon is good for you._

**I can be available Saturday.**

_i claim you then. i’ll meet you at noon at gangnam station, exit 2 at noon. wear comfortable clothes._

He doesn’t even wait for Hongbin’s response before he searches up “best laser tag in seoul” and finds a place with a 5 star rating, not even worrying about name or price, just noting the address.

Saturday, Sanghyuk throws on his comfiest joggers and t-shirt and heads out to meet Hongbin. It’s a perfect afternoon, a little on the overcast side, but pleasantly warm, instead of sweltering like it has been most days. The ride to Gangnam is uneventful, the transfers, as usual, on schedule and the trains not crowded at all. He people watches some, enjoying the little glimpses into the lives of those he passes by and wonders where they’re going today.

He sees Hongbin easily, his black basketball shorts and purple t-shirt easy to spot in the crowd and Sanghyuk gives him a smile and wave as he gets close. 

“Where are we going?” Hongbin asks, skipping the greeting.

“It’s a surprise, now follow me. It’s maybe 5 minutes from here,” he says leading them up the stairs and towards the street. “I tried to think of something you either haven’t done in a while or maybe ever, so I hope you appreciate where I’m taking you,” he adds as they wind their way through the crowds of people on the street.

A few minutes later, Sanghyuk is counting building numbers and grins back at Hongbin, “Surprise!” he says grinning at the other.

“You think I need a spa?” Hongbin asks, confusion written all over his face.

“No? It’s laser—” Sanghyuk cuts off, eyes wide when he reads the sign plastered to the front, LASER HAIR REMOVAL SPECIAL, DETAILS INSIDE. “No. No, no, nooooo,” Sanghyuk says shaking his head. Maybe if he shakes it hard enough he’ll wake up from this nightmare.

“Oh, so not _just_ a spa, but laser hair removal. You think I’m too hairy?” Hongbin asks suspiciously.

“No, never. Please, listen. I thought laser tag would be fun, so I just threw laser tag Seoul into the search bar and just chose the nearest five star place. I swear. You have the perfect amount of hair. I love your hair.” He can feel himself rambling, but can do nothing to stem the flow of words leaving his mouth. Maybe if he talks enough Hongbin will get distracted.

“You love my hair? Even my leg hair?” 

“Especially your leg hair. This is the first time I’m seeing it, but it’s lovely. Very lush. Is there a hole I can crawl into now?” Sanghyuk asks despondently.

Hongbin’s laugh is loud and he has to sag against the front of the store so he doesn’t fall over into foot traffic. Sanghyuk eyes him miserably. 

“You’re amazing,” Hongbin finally wheezes when he’s calmed down some. “I’m glad my leg hair has made such an impression, but I need to get out of here so I don’t piss myself from laughing.”

Sanghyuk throws him another wounded look before remembering desperately, “There’s this shop near here I go to sometimes. It’s second hand, but they always have some good stuff. We can try there instead.”

He’s relieved when Hongbin nods his agreement and follows him further down the street and over a couple of blocks. Luckily the shop is exactly where, and what, he is expecting so he has no qualms about leading Hongbin inside. 

True to Sanghyuk’s word, it’s three stories tall and packed with various items from every walk of life Sanghyuk could imagine. His sister had brought him here for the first time when he was younger because she was in search of idol goods. He had been enamored by the anime section and they’d both been lost for hours finding things to spend their pocket money on. 

“Now this place doesn’t offend me,” Hongbin says with a smile that shows entirely too many teeth.

Sanghyuk is caught off guard at how much he likes that smile directed at him. He beams back and takes Hongbin’s wrist, tugging him towards where he remembers the vintage games section to be in hopes that it will impress the other.

It’s a whole aisle, packed with products and characters from Atari to X-Box, and everything in between.

“Whoa, I haven’t seen one of these in _years_ ,” Hongbin says reaching out to run his fingertips along a bright blue plastic lunch box with Sonic The Hedgehog running across the front. “I had one when I was a kid and used it every single day…even after the sticker came off. I loved that thing.”

“It’s not too much, you can get it and bring your lunch to work in it,” Sanghyuk suggests with a wicked smile, “I won’t make fun of you too bad, but Jaehwan won’t let you live it down.”

He’s not quick enough to dodge the hit to his back, but he laughs, jumping away before Hongbin can continue his assault. The ease he feels around Hongbin is a relief to how tense he’s felt lately.

“I’m sure they have a Naruto one somewhere here so we can match,” Hongbin replies. 

Sanghyuk laughs, then chooses not to comment as Hongbin picks up the lunchbox to walk around with as they continue to browse.

The afternoon is more fun than he expected, possibly even better than laser tag would have been since they can actually talk and not engage in pretend warfare. He finds Hongbin out of the office, and out of his home, even more fun than usual. Enjoying his snarky commentary after Sanghyuk drags him out of the video game section to the anime and Sanghyuk takes too long lamenting over which figures he should buy this time to add to his growing collection and which he should leave behind even though the likelihood they will be sold before he can come back is high.

“If only I didn’t have to pay for food and shelter,” Sanghyuk says sadly as the clerk wraps three figures up in protective packaging so Sanghyuk can take them home, “I could buy all of them.”

“I, for one, am happy you’re choosing life over Itachi. You’re good to have around.”

“Itachi _is_ life,” Sanghyuk counters and savors the laugh the statement causes in Hongbin, throwing him another smile as they walk outside again. The afternoon is still pleasant and the breeze is nice on his face.

Sanghyuk finds he doesn’t want to go home just yet. He’s been in a funk lately and today has been the best day he can remember in a long time. He’s grateful that Hongbin had said yes to coming to this store, and that he didn’t bail once laser tag turned out to be a bust because Sanghyuk apparently can’t read a map. This is the best conversation they’ve had in the months they’ve worked together.

They’re walking back towards the station when suddenly an idea comes to him in the form of a brightly colored sign on the side of a building. He stops in his tracks and turns to Hongbin. “Want some ice cream before we head our separate ways?” he asks pointing towards the window.

Hongbin gives him a scrutinizing look before his face softens and he nods.

Relief washes over Sanghyuk at not being rejected and he ushers Hongbin inside, following him up to the counter and surveying his choices. He eventually lands on blood orange, deciding to try something new since it’s a limited flavor and it’s sparked his curiosity. Since this is a day to try new things.

He hears Hongbin order a scoop of mint chocolate and he wrinkles his nose a bit, thinking about how much mint reminds him of toothpaste, but holds his tongue because it’s not him that is going to eat the ice cream so his opinion isn’t needed.

Once they’ve both been served, and Hongbin has paid at his insistence even though Sanghyuk protests that since the laser tag was a bust he should make it up to him, Sanghyuk leads him over to an empty table near the corner. There aren’t that many people in the shop, but it’s nice to feel a little more secluded in the middle of downtown. That semblance of privacy that being on camera eight hours a day doesn’t really afford you.

“Thanks for coming with me today and sorry again that I tried to wax your legs. Maybe next weekend we can try playing actual laser tag,” Sanghyuk tells him with a wry smile.

Hongbin’s snort is loud as he laughs into his ice cream. His smile is bright and Sanghyuk feels his stomach swoop and not for the first time is he acutely aware of how amazing Hongbin is. There is potential here and while this might end up coming back to bite him, he wants to try anyway. What’s one more person to potentially avoid at work? 

“You know, if you wanted to make a date out of any of our hangouts in the future, I would be open to that idea,” he says, not quite able to meet Hongbin’s eye.

He’s nervous, stabbing at his ice cream with his spoon instead of taking any bites while he waits.

“What if I wanted to make this one a date?”

The question has Sanghyuk snapping his head up, eyes wide, “I—that would be good too,” he says quickly. “Very good.”

Hongbin’s smile is a lot more intense close up, Sanghyuk is finding as the older leans across the table. He can’t keep it in focus though as Hongbin leans in to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“Good,” Hongbin says simply, eyes dancing with another smile.

Sanghyuk presses back in, kissing him a little more firmly and tasting his mouth before he pulls back with a face, “Maybe I’ll try that again sometime when orange isn’t the only thing I taste and you don’t taste like toothpaste.”

“Probably for the best,” Hongbin says with a sympathetic nod. “Why don’t you come over tonight and we’ll watch a movie or play some games or something? Maybe you can try again after that,” he adds thoughtfully.

“I’d love that,” Sanghyuk replies, eyes crinkling with his smile as he stands up. “We can go now.”

“I still have half my ice cream left and so do you. Sit back down and eat,” Hongbin laughs, knocking the wind back out of Sanghyuk’s sails. “We have plenty of time.”

Monday morning, Sanghyuk stops by Hongbin’s desk where Wonshik is chatting with him as he sets up his camera equipment for the day. Woosung is off to the side, talking to Jaehwan about his latest mukbang and everything feels right in the world for the first time in a very long time. He smiles at Hongbin over Wonshik’s shoulder and is about to keep moving to his desk when Wonshik’s voice piques his curiosity.

“What did you do this weekend?” Wonshik asks as he tests the focus through his lens.

“Not much, really,” Hongbin shrugs. “I almost got some laser hair removal, but decided against it last minute.”

“I found out that mint chocolate and blood orange ice creams taste really weird together,” Sanghyuk pipes up with a wrinkle of his nose before he throws them both a quick goodbye and heads towards his desk without waiting for a response.

He barely hears Wonshik’s confused “What? You two are weird,” and Hongbin’s answering laugh.

—-

When Wonshik screens the first episode of the docuseries in the conference room two months later, Sanghyuk curls into Hongbin under the cover of darkness and knows that Jaehwan and Wonshik, and Hakyeon and Taekwoon are doing the same as they watch their own lives play out on screen before them.

**Author's Note:**

> Inpiniteu, I don't know you, but I hope you approve of this! Your sad little Sanghyuk inspired me to make him happy and give him someone who can love him the same way eventually. The Neo is mostly for me because I will forever be Neo trash.


End file.
